I really enjoyed browsing your gardens Cheryl. My comments echo all that has been said by my fellow Stewers!
I didn't find it long at all, I enjoyed the read. It's always interesting finding out how gardeners work hard at developing and creating their gardens. Well done, you've done terrific work!
What a great record and so well put together, in a few years you will look back and enjoy it all over again, your Mum would be proud I am sure.
Gail... Glad you enjoyed the summary. I guess I have a unique opportunity for showing something like this since I started from a "blank" piece of land. Kay... it sure is better to look at than that yard of full of dirt, isn't it? Bernie.... I think my work has just begun. Now I get to fix my mistakes! Chocolate... I often worry what our parents would think of the changes we've made around the house. When my sister visited earlier this year, she told me "stop worrying about it... they would love the fact that we're taking care of the homestead and making improvements. Dad would have loved that metal building and Mom would have loved all the flowers." I hope so. Thanks again everyone!
Great stuff I'm still exploring this forum and was looking at this particular topic. So you had damage from Rita, too? Probably not as intense as mine and what happened to Lake Charles. I like your chronology. I never had a camera or the sense to do it, and the pictures I did have I left in Houston. But with this new arboretum I'm working on, I'll certainly keep track of it. Your butterfly garden-did it attract them the first year, not only to feed but to lay eggs on, too? And what about hummingbirds. I use to see them yrs. ago, but the last couple of years I can count on 2 hands how many I've seen. Since we're so close, your info should reflect my area, too.
What a wonderful way to keep the memory of your folks by fixing up the old home place. You are awe inspiring! Keep posting updates. They are so much fun to see.
Blissful.... Hurricane Rita did her share of damage here.... but most was further north around the Lufkin area. Which happened to be where we evacuated too. Total nightmare on the roads. We vowed never to evacuate again. Ike did more damage in my area than Rita. There's still people with blue tarps on their roofs. Are you in the Lake Charles area? I didn't set out to do a chronology... but I do tend to take lots of photos. So, last summer when it was far too hot to do any gardening, I was sitting here in the AC going through photos.... then I had the idea to go back and take pictures of the same things from the same angles. And yep.... I can't remember now how many different butterflies I had last year. I'd have to go back through "my garden" photos to see which ones. And there were caterpillars galore on the Passion Flower Vine and fennel. And some I remember falling from the Sassafras tree. And, my memory fails me now, but I had lots of them on the shelves in their coccoons and photos of some newly emerging ones too. And we continue to get a few hummingbirds. Maybe 4-6 regular visitors.... but they are here all spring, summer and part of fall. Thanks Jewell. I'm truly blessed to be able to live "back home". I can remember when I was 16 years old swearing I'd never live in this little one horse town ever again! Funny how a few decades can change your whole perspective! And don't worry... I want to do a "year two" review! And 3 and 4 and....
Thanks again to you all for the nice words. I'm barely in year two and am now facing my failures... and celebrating my triumphs. Ain't gardening great!?
